Method and apparatus for billing voice calls over an internet protocol network according to bandwidth criteria

ABSTRACT

A telecommunication service charges for voice calls entering a network over a particular time period, such as a billing period. A parameter or parameters related to the number of information units (e.g., packets, bytes or bits) used to transmit the plurality of voice calls over the network is measured. A charge for the plurality of voice calls is computed based on the one or more parameters measured. The one or more parameters may be used to compute a charge for the plurality of voice calls based on the total number of information units transmitted, average number of information units transmitted, peak information units transmitted over the billing period or some combination thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to telephone networks and moreparticularly to determining cost of voice calls according to variouscriteria

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] It is known that voice calls can be carried as packetized dataover the Internet or some other packetized data transport network. Aslarge packet based telephone networks emerge, there is greaterlikelihood that a call may originate on a telephone coupled to apublicly switched telephone network (PSTN) and have a destination on thepacketized network. When a call is received into the packetized network,it is routed to the appropriate address on the network. Privatepacketized networks carrying voice traffic are becoming national andeven international in coverage.

[0005] One problem with receiving calls from a PSTN or another networkinto a packetized telephone network is that a way must be found tocharge for the calls appropriately. Traditionally, that has been done ona per call basis. For instance, each call entering the packetizednetwork is charged on a per minute basis. If a large entity, such as atelephone company is the source of the calls entering the network,charging on a per call basis results in a complex billing process. Forexample, a telephone company may originate one hundred million callsduring a particular billing period. To generate a bill on a per callbasis is computationally intensive due to the large numbers of callsinvolved. The complexity of such a billing approach is undesirable bothfrom the perspective of the party creating the bill as well as the partyreceiving the bill.

[0006] Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a billing approachthat has reduced complexity and greater flexibility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Accordingly, the invention provides a method of charging forvoice calls entering a network carrying packetized voice traffic. Themethod includes receiving a plurality of voice calls into the networkover a particular time period, such as a billing period. A parameter orparameters related to the number of information units (e.g., packets,bytes or bits) used to transmit the plurality of voice calls over thenetwork is measured. A charge for the plurality of voice calls iscomputed based on the one or more parameters measured. The one or moreparameters may be used to compute a charge for the plurality of voicecalls based on the total number of information units transmitted,average number of information units transmitted, peak information unitstransmitted over the billing period or some combination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The present invention may be better understood, and its numerousobjects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in theart by referencing the accompanying drawings.

[0009]FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a system utilizing a count ofinformation units transmitted in a billing system according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

[0010] The use of the same reference symbols in different drawingsindicates similar or identical items.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

[0011] Referring to FIG. 1, system block diagram is depicted in whichthe present invention can be effectively utilized. Packetized voicenetwork 101 transmits packetized voice calls between a plurality ofnodes on the network. Network 101 may be a large national or eveninternational network that can forward packetized voice traffic overgreat distances. In addition, the packetized voice network 101 mayinclude ingress and egress points shown as gateways 103 and 105 thatallow calls to enter the network from other sources and to leave thenetwork going to other sources. For example, a call may enter thenetwork at gateway 103 and be routed to a node in the network or berouted through the network to an egress point at gateway 105 for adestination outside of a network. More particularly, a call mayoriginate in a publicly switched telephone network (PSTN) 107 that isdestined for a target that is part of network 101. If the call isoriginating with PSTN 107, the call on arrival at gateway 103 isconverted into a packet stream suitable for transmission acrosspacketized voice network 101. Assume that PSTN 107 provides a largenumber of voice calls for gateway 103 and that it is charged for the useof the packetized voice network 101.

[0012] Gateway 103 is a node on a network that forwards packets toanother node on the packetized network using a TCP/IP, or otherappropriate network protocol, suitable for a packetized voice network.Gateway 103, converts an analog call received from the PSTN to packetscarrying the voice call. Gateway 103 identifies a target node on thevoice network based on the number dialed on the PSTN and forwardspackets associated with that voice call to that node.

[0013] Gateway 103 may also receive calls that are already packetized.In fact, gateway 103 may be coupled to another packetized voice networkthat is charged for calls entering network 101. In that case, thepacketized calls are routed according to information contained in thepackets received identifying the call destination.

[0014] Because a portion of what gateway 103 does is the same functionas associated with traditional data networks, network managementprotocols may be utilized which can track information about the callsmade. For instance, the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or theremote monitoring (RMON) network management protocol provide a rich setof data about network usage. The SNMP protocol provides for networkmanagement by a manager through agents that interface with the devicebeing managed. For example, an SNMP agent may reside on gateway 103. Theagents contain managed objects that include performance statisticsrelevant to the current invention, but can also include management ofsuch objects as hardware or configuration parameters. The variousobjects are stored in a format specified by a Management InformationBase (MIB). A typical agent implements the SNMP protocol, stores andretrieves management data defined by the MIB and can signal an event tothe manager. A typical manager can query agents, set variables inagents, get responses from agents and otherwise perform necessarymanagement functions. Details on the SNMP protocol are well known in theart and accordingly are not described in detail herein.

[0015] RMON (which includes presently RMON 1 and RMON 2) allows networkinformation to be gathered at one node and defines additional MIBs toprovide a more detailed data set regarding network operations. These, orother network management protocols can readily provide the necessarystatistics relating to the number of packets, bytes or bits of dataassociated with voice calls that are sent from gateway 103 into thepacketized voice network 101.

[0016] The kind of information that can be obtained includes the totalnumber of bytes transmitted, e.g., over a predetermined period such as aday or a month. In addition, the average number of bytes can be trackedin numerous ways. For instance, the particular management/monitoringprotocol utilized in the network could provide a daily total number ofbytes transmitted that are associated with phone calls received fromPSTN 107. If desired, those numbers could be converted to a dailyaverage for the billing period. In addition, the peak number of bytestransmitted could also be tracked on a daily weekly or billing periodbasis. The peak number of bytes may be a useful billing basis since itis a statistic indicative of how close that portion of the network is toreaching unacceptable loading conditions.

[0017] If all of the traffic received into gateway 103 was not from thesame telephone company or other entity, then gateway 103 could beimplemented to provide statistics of how many packets were sent into thenetwork from each source. That could be based on the calling number,with each particular calling number associated with one of the sources.

[0018] The network monitors may count bytes or packets or bits. If thepackets are a fixed size in terms of bytes or if an average packet sizecan be determined, then it is appropriate to count packets. If packetscan vary in the number of bytes they contain as they may for someprotocols, then it may be appropriate to count bytes instead. In anycase, a count is made of an information unit, whether that informationunit is a packet or byte or bit or some other measurement of the amountof network bandwidth utilized. Thus, one of ordinary skill, given theteachings herein can readily adopt to tracking the appropriateinformation unit.

[0019] Once the appropriate statistics are obtained regarding theinformation units transmitted by gateway 103 into the packetized voicenetwork 101 associated with a particular group of voice calls, thatinformation is transmitted to network management node 109 which includesa billing function 111. The billing function may be a system that iswholly separate from the network management node 109 or may be one ofthe functions performed by network management node 109. The billingfunction takes the statistics provided for gateway 103 related toinformation units transmitted into the network associated with a groupof voice calls and generates a bill based on that information. Note thatthe information generated by gateway 103 may be generated by an agentresiding on gateway 103 which is periodically polled by network manager109 to obtain that information in accordance with the particular networkmanagement protocol implemented.

[0020] The billing function then calculates a bill based on theinformation related to the information units transmitted into thenetwork. The charges may be calculated in a number of different ways.For example, assume the time period for which a bill is being generatedis one month. Other time periods can also be used, weekly, daily, etc.In one embodiment, the telephone company or other entity being billed ischarged for the total number of information units transmitted into thenetwork. That means, assuming, e.g., there are one million calls forthat month, the only information that needs to be determined is how manybytes (or bits or packets) were transmitted during the period. A bill isthen prepared based on the number of information units X(cost/information unit), with the cost being some fraction of a cent.That provides a very simple billing mechanism for both the sender andthe receiver of the bill. In addition, the necessary statistics arereadily available from information collected from network managementprotocols. The bill can then be forwarded to the telephone company orother entity being charged for the plurality of phone calls.

[0021] In another embodiment a peak usage rate is charged. That is, thepeak usage over a certain amount period is determined and a charge madeaccording to that peak usage. That could be a peak usage per dayaveraged over the monthly billing period, a peak usage during the periodor various combination of average peak value calculated daily, weekly ormonthly. For instance, the statistics could provide a peak usage perhour, per day, per week or per month. That information can be combinedinto various types of peak averages to generate a bill.

[0022] Other types of averages can also be employed to determine theappropriate amount to charge for telephone calls made during the billingperiod. For example, the network manager can gather the total number ofinformation units transmitted each day of the billing period and then adaily average generated. A combination of peak and average billing canalso be used. For example, one component of the charge can be based onaverage daily totals and another component of the charge based onaverage daily peak or overall peak for the period. As can be seen,various ways of determining charges based on the number of informationunits transmitted into the network can be utilized.

[0023] While the description herein so far has described total, averageand peak rates of information units transmitted, other measures ofnetwork bandwidth utilization can also be used. For instance, bandwidthutilization could be measured in information units/second transmitted(e.g., average or peak).

[0024] The description of the invention set forth herein isillustrative, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention asset forth in the following claims. For instance, while certaincombinations of peak and average rates have been described many othercombinations could be utilized as would be apparent to one of skill inthe art based on the teachings herein. Other variations andmodifications of the embodiments disclosed herein, may be made based onthe description set forth herein, without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of charging for a plurality of voicecalls received into a packetized voice network, comprising: determiningone or more parameters associated with a number of information unitsused to transmit the plurality of voice calls over the packetized voicenetwork; and preparing a bill for the plurality of voice calls as afunction of the one or more parameters.
 2. The method as recited inclaim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more parameters, is used toprepare the bill according to a total number of information unitstransmitted during a predetermined period.
 3. The method as recited inclaim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is used toprepare the bill according to an average number of information unitstransmitted during a predetermined period.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 1 wherein at least one of the one or more parameters is used toprepare the bill according to a peak number of information unitstransmitted during a predetermined time period.
 5. The method as recitedin claim 1 wherein the information units are transmitted over a voiceover internet protocol (VOIP) network.
 6. The method as recited in claim1 wherein a network management protocol determines the one or moreparameters associated with the number of information units-transmitted.7. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice calls includemodem calls.
 8. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the voice callsare received into the network form one or more ingress points.
 9. Themethod as recited in claim 8 wherein at least one of the ingress pointsis coupled to a public switched telephone network.
 10. The method asrecited in claim 8 wherein at least one of the ingress points is coupledto another packetized network.
 11. The method as recited in claim 1wherein the one or more parameters are used to prepare the billaccording to at least one of a total number of information unitstransmitted, an average number of information units transmitted, and apeak number of information units transmitted.
 12. A computer programproduct encoded in at least one computer readable medium to implement abilling program for a packetized network carrying voice traffic: a firstinstruction sequence executable to retrieve from a storage location ameasure of network utilization associated with a plurality of voicecalls received into the packetized network, the measure being a functionof a number of information units transmitted over the network to carrythe voice calls; and a second instruction sequence executable todetermine a charge for the plurality of voice calls according to themeasure of the network utilization.
 13. The computer program product asrecited in claim 12 wherein the network utilization measure is afunction of an average number of the information units transmitted. 14.The computer program product as recited in claim 12 wherein the networkutilization measure is a function of a peak number of the informationunits transmitted.
 15. The computer program product as recited in claim12, wherein the at least one computer readable medium is selected fromthe set of a disk, tape or other magnetic, optical, or electronicstorage medium and a network, wireline, wireless or other communicationsmedium.
 16. A method of determining a cost for a plurality of voicecalls transmitted into a network, comprising: determining one or moremeasurements indicative of network utilization for the plurality ofvoice calls, the one or more measurements being related to a number ofinformation units transmitted into the network and associated with adigital representation of the voice calls; and determining a cost forthe plurality of voice calls as a function of the one or moremeasurements.
 17. The method as recited in claim 16 wherein the one ormore measurements includes a number of information units transmittedfrom one or more ingress points into the network.
 18. The method asrecited in claim 16 wherein the one or more measurements includes anaverage number of information units transmitted from one or more ingresspoints into the network.
 19. The method as recited in claim 16 whereinthe one or more measurements is a function of a peak number ofinformation units transmitted from one or more ingress points into thenetwork.
 20. A method of charging for a plurality of voice callsentering a network, comprising: receiving a plurality of voice callsinto the network; measuring a parameter related to a number ofinformation units transmitted over a time interval, the informationunits being associated with the voice calls; and computing a cost forthe voice calls based at least in part on the measured parameter. 21.The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the cost is computed accordingto a total number of information units transmitted into the networkduring the time interval.
 22. The method as recited in claim 20 whereinthe cost is computed according to a peak number of information unitstransmitted into the network.
 23. A method of generating a bill for useof a network carrying voice traffic: retrieving from a storage locationone or more network utilization measures associated with a plurality ofcalls received into the network, the one or more network utilizationmeasures being related to a number of information units transmitted intothe network and associated with the calls; and calculating a charge forthe plurality of calls as a function of the network utilizationmeasures.
 24. The method as recited in claim 23 wherein the calls arevoice calls.
 25. The method as recited in claim 23 wherein the callsinclude modem calls.
 26. The method as recited in claim 23 wherein theone or more network utilization measures include at least one of ameasure of peak information units transmitted, a measure of averageinformation units transmitted and a measure of a total number ofinformation units.
 27. A method for providing telecommunication servicesover a network comprising: providing a telecommunication service inwhich calls entering the network are charged as a function of a numberof information units used to transport the calls across the network; andreceiving the calls into the network.
 28. A method for providingtelecommunication services over a network comprising: establishing abilling relationship with a user of the telecommunication services, thebilling relationship providing for charging for a group of callsreceived into the network as a function of a number of information unitsused to transport the calls across the network; and receiving the groupof calls into the network in accordance with the billing relationship.